Plus An Act to create a competitive cannabis testing program and An Act to expand access to cannabis beverage products
The last few hearings of the Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy have brought informative and heated testimony, along with questions from the lawmakers who decide which bills to advance.
In June, the body heard from medical patients and advocates about legislation that could expand access, among others. Committee members also heard from people weighing in on seriously divisive issues, like an expansion of the number of licenses that one owner can hold.
Many bills related to those topics (and to some of the proposals listed below) have since been rolled into a majorly contentious omnibus bill passed by the House of Representatives in June. While that legislation waits in Senate limbo, the joint committee’s work continues.
Below is a list of the bills they will hear testimony about next Tuesday, July 22:
An Act to facilitate labor peace among the cannabis workforce
An Act further defining eligibility for medical use marijuana
An Act to modernize cannabis retail operations
An Act regularizing accounts receivable in the cannabis industry
An Act enabling private donations to the cannabis social equity trust fund
An Act to support cannabis equity businesses
An Act to modernize cannabis retail operations
An Act to protect children from the use of alcohol and marijuana
An Act relative to prohibiting billboard advertisements of non-prescription marijuana
An Act to facilitate labor peace among the cannabis workforce
An Act relative to supporting sustainability in the cannabis industry
An Act to eliminate excessive regulation of the cannabis industry
An Act to create a competitive cannabis testing program
An Act to expand access to cannabis beverage products
An Act adding retail drive-up curbside pickup for marijuana establishments
An Act regularizing accounts receivable in the cannabis industry
An Act relative to cannabis marketing
An Act relative to cannabis advertisements by out of state dispensaries
An Act relative to billboard advertisements for cannabis
An Act relative to fines for violations of cannabis advertising regulations
An Act relative to recycling cannabis infused beverages
If you’re wondering why notoriously slow-moving House leaders would advance such consequential legislation before there have even been hearings on all of these bills, we advise that you abandon any hope for rhyme or reason (beyond the clear influence of big business interests that constitute a minority of industry stakeholders) or else run the risk of banging your head against a hard surface. After all, we’re talking about the same frauds whose agricultural committee produced a sham hearing on hemp last year without input from growers, manufacturers, or sellers, plus any number of other examples of members merely pretending to listen.
Finally, if any of these bills strike you as interesting, be sure to dig into their sponsors and the people who testify. Some are just the usual prohibitionist measures filed under the cloak of protecting kids, while others are just shameless money grabs. Stay tuned to Talking Joints Memo for further coverage, and if you plan on testifying and would like to publish your position with us, please email the testimony to editorial@talkingjointsmemo.com.
